Lawsuit Against Virtual Schools Goes to Court

A lawsuit filed last year by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita against a group of virtual schools will be heard in court today. Our partners at WFYI report the Hamilton County Superior Court will hear arguments in the case, in which the state accuses three online schools, along with related companies and people, bilked the state out of millions of dollars in funds.

In July, Rokita’s office filed suit against Indiana Virtual School, Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, Indiana Virtual Educational Foundation, and other defendants.

The suit claims the schools wrongfully received a total of more than $68 million from the state and also disbursed more than $85 million in public funds to vendors without receiving invoices or itemized information on how the money was spent.

The suit seeks more than $150 million from the schools.

According to WFYI, two defendants, former school superintendent Percy Clark and former head of information technology Travis Lynch, are asking the court to delay the lawsuit because they may be under federal criminal investigation.

Clark’s attorney says “while the criminal investigation is ongoing, requiring Dr. Clark to defend this proceeding, and to participate in discovery, would jeopardize his constitutional rights to due process and to avoid self-incrimination.”

Other defendants are arguing that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the state was not specific enough about the alleged impropriety of the defendants.

The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today. You can read the full story from WFYI education reporter Dylan Peers McCoy by clicking here.